Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia
His original name is Tafari Makonen, he is known for his input to modernize Ethiopia, made Ethiopia a member of the League of Nations and United Nations, made Addis Ababa the headquarters of Organization of African Unity among many outstanding achievements. Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia will remain significant in the history of Africa.
Tafari is considered the heir to a dynasty that links back from biblical King Solomon and the Abrahamic Queen of Sheba who was the empress of Axum.
Tafari was born near Hare in Ethiopia in July 23rd 1892 to Ras Makonnen. He received his early education from home thanks to the French Missionaries. His intellectual abilities and charisma earned him favours from the public and the government of his time.
The rise to Kingship
He was the only true son of the Harer governor and was soon to succeed his father in the governorship. Tafari became the governor of Sidamo and then of the Harer Province during which he sought to put emphasis on central government breaking the then prevailing feudal power of local nobility.
While on the throne as governor he become popular as Ras Tafari Makonnen. Ras means head.
The Emperor of the moment, Menelik II, was a cousin and a close friend of Tafari’s father. Now the emperor had no heir to succeed him, leaving Tafari as the most possible person to inherit the empire. After his father died in 1906 Tafari was taken under the wing of the emperor Menelik II, increasing his chances of inheriting the empire.
After the death of Menelik II things didn’t go as initially perceived; Tafari did not inherit the empire but the position was taken by Menelik’s grandson Lij Yasu. Lij Yasu did however not receive favour with the Christians who form a majority of the Ethiopian population. He faced serious opposition from Tafari and the Ethiopians due to his Islamic support. Yasu was later overthrown, paving the way for Menelik’s II daughter to be the empress and Tafari the regent.
He was seen as a symbol of Ethiopia’s hope and the younger generation adored him. Two outstanding achievements for the man were in 1923 and 1924 when he led Ethiopia to join the League of Nations and his travel to Europe respectively. He is remembered as the first Ethiopian ruler to travel abroad.
After gaining favor with Ethiopians coupled with his achievements, Tafari became so powerful on the land until he appointed himself as a king in 1928. After the death of Zaiduti, Menelik II’s daughter and emperor, Tafari was crowned the new emperor in 1930.
During his era of four decades Haile Selassie used his authority to instill reforms in Ethiopia. He is remembered for improving the education sector, strengthening the police and putting in place a new constitution for the nation in 1955. The reforms were done to modernize Ethiopia and grant equal rights to the citizens.
During the scramble for Africa in 1936 the Italians invaded Ethiopia forcing Haile Selassie to flee into exile. After seeking help from the League of Nations he was assisted by the British to regain his country and his power in 1941. The war was the first the Ethiopians had lost lost to Europeans.
Despite all the efforts to modernize Ethiopia, the emperor never considered trimming his powers. The new constitution gave him more central powers.
The fall
Problems began in his kingdom in 1970’s. The first challenge was famine which hit the nation. This combined with increasing rate of unemployment made the Ethiopians lose confidence with the government.
Rebellion amongst the armed forces in 1974 was a bigger challenge. The revolt was due to low pay of the army. This led to separation of the army which resulted to the historical guerilla war in Eritrea.
The challenges were enough to have the powerful emperor ousted from power and put under house arrest. Haile Selassie eventually died in 1975. There are different versions that explain the cause of his death; one version claim that he died of natural causes while another reveal possibility of him having been struggled to death through orders from the new government.
Recently in the year 1992 remains of his body were found under a toilet within the Imperial Palace. A proper burial for the renowned Africa hero was planned and done in November 2000 in Trinity Cathedral of Addis Ababa.
For all his days the emperor Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. A movement called Rastafari movement, established in Jamaica in 1930 and now has over half a million followers across the world,believes that Haile Selassie is the returned biblical messiah. As a messianic figure he is perceived to lead a future generation into eternal peace, righteousness and prosperity.
By Titus Kivite
Source: Wikipedia
Africa Global News Publication
